Highway marker



Sept- 2, 1959 D. W. HORNBECK 2,905,134

HIGHWAY MARKER Filed Dec. 5, 1957 FIG. 2

FIG. 4

l9 INVENTOR.

BYDONALD W HORNBECK M K W ATTORNEYS United Sttes Patent 2,905,134 HIGHWAY MARKER Donald W. Hornbeck,'Shaker Heights, Ohio, assignor to GfaadrProducts, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation l0 Application December 3, 1957, Serial No. 700,328

2 Claims. (Cl. 116-63) This invention relates to markers for use on highways vand, more particularly, to markers suitable for warning drivers, of vehicles that the trafiic guide lines are freshly painted.

freshly painted lines and other marks applied to high ways during the period required for the paint to dry, to prevent vehicles from tracking the wet paint onto unpainted portions of the pavement impairing the appearance of the lines and contributing to the rapid deterioration thereof my removing part of the painted coating.

Many make-shift devices have been used for this purpose, such as the saw horse-like brackets which are used to protect workmen repairing sections of road, various types of flags and supports and even, at times, boxes and other devices which may be at hand.

Some of these protective devices occupy considerable space, even to the extent of encroaching upon portions of the highway which are being traveled or upon portions occupied by the workmen.

Through the years, many designs have been proposed for highway markers, but only a few have been successful in practice. One marker that was used to a considerable extent is described in Elliott Patent No. 2,338,638. However, the great increase in high-speed driving in the post-war era, such as on freeways and turnpikes, has given rise to problems which were unimportant at the time of the Elliott invention. One of the difficulties encountered is the lack of stability of the marker under the influence of turbulent gusts of wind, either natural or artificial, such as by the passing of vehicles at high speed. These gusts of wind sometimes cause the markers to be moved off their original position marking the line and even blown into the path of traffic.

Another of the difficulties in the past is that many markers are not readily visible at distances sufficient to afford the driver approaching at high speed an opportunity to avoid running over the freshly painted line.

The greatly increased miles of roads and the advent of freeways and turnpikes created the additional problem of positioning and removing the markers quickly and efficiently while moving at fairly high speeds without disrupting the flow of traffic.

The previously proposed markers have not been able to overcome the newly-created problems above without sacrificing other desirable or required characteristics such as durability, simplicity, ease and low cost of manufacturing, etc.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved marker which will be light in weight but not readily displaced by wind currents caused by closely passing vehicles.

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A further object is to provide an improved marker which can be positioned and removed from a highway surface quickly and efficiently, either manually or mechanically, while moving at relatively high speeds.

A further object is to provide an improved marker which is readily visible to approaching drivers.

A further object is to provide an improved marker which is exremcly durable but simple in construction and which can be easily and economically manufactured.

These and other objects and advantages will be understood more fully from the following description and the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a portion of a highway with markers of the invention positioned along the painted lines.

Figure 2 is a plan view of a marker of the invention.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the marker.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of a modified form of marker.

In the drawing, a thin, elongated, one-piece marker made from a resilient, flexible material, such as a rubber, rubber-like or plastic material is positioned on edge over guide lines 11 freshly painted on highway surface 12. The marker comprises central member 13 and end members 14, all of substantially uniform height and thickness. The end members 14 are in a substantially parallel relation to each other with the three wall members giving the general appearance of a 2 when positioned on edge upon a highway.

The area of the end members 14 combined is generally less than the area of the central member 13, and, in most situations, the area of each end member 14 is between about Mr and /2 the area of central member 13, for example, about /3 of the area.

The central member 13 is provided with apertures 15 to permit gusts of wind to pass through the marker without causing the marker to be displaced from its position on the lines. The form and number of the opening or openings is not critical. However, the total aperture area should be between about 5 to 10% and 25 to 30% of the area of central member 13. It has been found advantageous to have the aperture area about 8 to 20% of the area of the central member. Openings of various shapes and sizes may be employed depending upon the conditions of wind, exposure of the highway, the amount and type of trafiic, etc.

The marker has reinforcing and stabilizing buttresses 16 positioned along the longitudinal edges in the region of the corners and preferably on the outer angle of each of the corner portions. These buttresses extend inwardly from the longitudinal edges of the marker to resist overturning and displacement of the marker.

The central member 13 is preferably provided with recessed or cut-out portions 17 along its longitudinal edges to permit the placing of the marker over a freshly painted guide line without having the marker touch the fresh paint.

In Figure 4, an alternative marker similar to the marker illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 and described above, comprises central member 18 and end members 19 and has four corner buttresses 21. The central member 18 has two elliptical openings 20 rather than three round holes 15.

Thus, the present invention provides a marker which can be successfully used in highway situations where high-speed driving is encountered, such as freeways, turnpikes, etc. The improved markers of the present invention have greatly increased stability, are not easily displaced by wind currents, such as caused by closely passing vehicles and are readily visible to approaching drivers. Furthermore, they are extremely durable, while being simple in construction and easily and economically manufactured. In addition, the improved marker of the present invention can be positioned and removed from a highway surface quickly and efliciently, either manually or mechanically, while moving at relatively high speeds.

From the above, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art, that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described in detail, but that a number of modifications and variations can be made within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be restricted only by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A relatively thin elongated one-piece marker adapted to stand on edge upon a highway surface and having three contiguous substantially rectangular wall members of a flexible, rubber-like material, comprising a central member and two end members projectingin opposite directions from opposing ends of said central member and each forming a corner portion with said central member, said end members being in a substantially parallel relation to each other, said central member being provided with at least one aperture, said central member having portions of its longitudinal edges recessed, reinforcing buttresses disposed at the bottom of each of said corner portions and each having a marker-supporting face which extends in the outer angle of its associated corner portion and which is coplanar with the lowermost edges of said end members, and additional reinforcing buttresses disposed at the top of each of said corner portions and each having a face adapted to support said marker when it is placed in inverted position, said lastnamed faces each extending in the outer angle of its associated corner portion and being coplanar with the uppermost edges of said end members.

2. A relatively thin elongated one-piece marker adapted to stand on edge upon a highway surface having three contiguous substantially rectangular wall members of a flexible, rubber-like material, comprising a central member and two end members projecting in opposite directions from opposing ends of said central member and each forming a corner portion with said central member, said end members being in a substantially parallel relation to each other, said central member having portions of its longitudinal edges recessed, reinforcing buttresses disposed at the bottom of each of said corner portions and each having a marker-supporting face which extends in the outer angle of its associated corner portion and which is coplanar with the lowermost edges of said end members, and additional reinforcing buttresses disposed at the top of each of said corner portions and each having a face adapted to support said marker when it is placed in inverted position, said last-named faces each extending in the outer engle of its associated corner portion and being coplanar with the uppermost edges of said end members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,238,683 Elliott Apr. 15, 1941 2,712,809 Clarke July 12, 1955 2,790,410 Wald Apr. 30, 1957 

